Monday, January 7, 2008

Wikis at the reference desk

The Library Success web site lists several wiki examples. I think that wikis are even more useful for libraries "behind the scenes" rather than for the public. For example, a wiki allows reference librarians working at different shifts (or even at different locations in library system) to share their current research findings. For example, a librarian working the Monday morning shift might find he's suddenly getting a flood of calls about a local news story in today's paper. That librarian can post some helpful research links about the story in the reference desk wiki. Then, other librarians working later in the day can quickly access those same resources, make comments, and add their own resources. A wiki allows for quick collaboration. In the reference world, several heads are clearly better than one.

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